Situated in the heart of Cape Town’s CBD, Jazz Pony is a natural and low intervention wine bar. As part of One Park’s latest offering, sharing the iconic, multistoried creative destination with the Listening Bar and their iconic record store, The Other Records, the ethos for everyone involved is centred around collaboration.
One Park co-founder Matt Hichens says, “collaboration is key in creating community and that allows us to continuously grow. Collaboration keeps our space fresh and exciting and allows us to push boundaries.” This notion of collaboration is central to Jazz Pony’s vision – spearheaded by Max King of Hokey Poke and Eyeball Studio, the food and wine bar will serve as an experimental, testing ground for creators to focus on taste as a sensory medium.
Weekly, Jazz Pony invites local winemakers to pour and showcase their wines. On their opening night, they hosted Mphumi Ndlangisa from Magna Carta Wines. Mphumi poured his latest vintages: Pinot Noir MCC, Orange Muscat, Orange Colombard, Syrah and Orange Chenin. His edgy, vibrant and small batch natural wines showcase the unrivalled natural wine scene in South Africa. Following Magna Carta, Megan van der Merwe from Beau Constantia showcased pre-released blends and wines. Megan describes her love for natural wines as “If made with a fingerprint-, and not a footprint philosophy, a wine will have a characteristic taste and flavour profile imparted to it by the environment that the fruit grows in. For that reason, I believe in interfering as little as possible in the process taking place from vine to wine, a natural journey that absolutely fascinates me..” The wines that Megan showcased, highlight this process of ‘low intervention’ wine-making as a core tenet of the wine philosophy at Jazz Pony.
For the menu, Jazz Pony’s curated snacks are thoughtfully and playfully designed to accompany the wine offering. In the style of ‘Afro-Asian diner eating’ Max King explains that, “an Asian pulse through the food brings in a certain practice and precision juxtaposed with the unknown which is my style. Then you mix all of the above together under the alias diner and you get to be bold, brash and ballsy. It just felt right and representative of One Park and its newly born Jazz Pony”. With four bigger snack plates and a variation of sides – the snacks are loud with flavour. Expect fried chicken burgers (or swap with cauliflower) or crispy chicken with house pickles and Max’s famous naughty sauce, paired deliciously with the freshness of Genevieve’s Blanc de Blanc MCC – as an example of the offering. Another special mention has to be the marinated soy quail eggs; a gooey, salty and slightly spicy bite.
In addition, Jazz Pony will be hosting kitchen takeovers in the new year – which is set to be a regular expression of the space’s collaborative focus, with Matt echoing that, “Jazz Pony brings a fresh and exciting food and wine energy into the building. It ties the upstairs and downstairs together through music and now taste, adding another dimension of exploration through the space and senses.”
Guests are encouraged to head upstairs after their experience at Jazz Pony, to One Park’s Listening Bar or shop the latest vinyl releases at The Other Records.
Written by: Holly Beaton
